Obviously its roots go back to the founding of the American Hospital in Kuwait-the first real interaction between Americans and Kuwaitis-but it was solidified and matured in the wake of the 1990 invasion and the 1991 liberation (of Kuwait), and the subsequent relationships that have built up following that, both the institutional and person-to-person," she said in an interview on the occasion of Kuwait’s national celebrations.
Congratulating the Kuwaiti leadership, government and people on the 49th National Day and the 19th Liberation Day, Jones noted that for those who had seen the destruction that was wrought on Kuwait during the invasion, "now it’s really an oasis in a very difficult neighborhood." This oasis, she explained, was brought about by Kuwait’s system of governance, a freely elected parliament, an open and free press, and a highly educated populace that was guaranteed to keep Kuwait in the forefront.
She described the Kuwaiti-US relationship as "mature" and one of "honest friends," but said that "we have obligation not only to keep developing ourselves, but to do it so that we can be stabilizing factors in the world around us, and that we can be the enzymes for positive change in the world. That’s why I believe in this relationship." Asked about areas of cooperation, she said that as in any mature relationship, there was cooperation "across the board." "Obviously we have a very important security relat
ionship, and that remains the case because Kuwait remains essential to our logistical support for operations in Iraq and elsewhere in the region in terms of regional security … But we consult regularly on a broad range of regional security issues, including Iran and Yemen, Al-Qaeda, etc.," she explained.
Dialogue between the Kuwaiti and US governments extends to counter-terrorism cooperation, human rights and trafficking in persons issues, as well as democracy and civil society, she added. "The US isn’t a quiet country; obviously we are very open about our concerns. And again, Kuwait has a mature government, and has open and free press that talks a lot about these concerns as well, so we have a very lively exchange." Economy is another important topic of dialogue. "I have often said that one of my goals as
ambassador is to grow the economic and commercial and business relationship so that it brings appropriate balance to our security relationship.